1 DALY CITY BART STATION ACCESS PLAN December 2002 Contents… Plan Summary Access Plan Development Current and Future Conditions Opportunities and Constraints Access Recommendations Bay Area Rapid Transit Planning Department I. PLAN SUMMARY A. Existing Conditions The Daly City BART Station is located at the border of San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. It is unique in the West Bay in that it offers the high level of BART train service of the San Francisco stations (four lines) along with the commuter parking typical of suburban stations. The opening of the BART extension to the San Francisco International Airport and Millbrae in early 2003 is not expected to reduce patronage at Daly City BART over the long term. In fact, ridership is expected to continue to grow slowly over the next two decades. Should Daly City become the only West Bay station to offer free commuter parking, the attraction could be considerably greater. The station area is comprised mainly of residential neighborhoods, with some retail, office, and a cinema within walking distance. Interstate 280 divides the station area, offering easy auto access, but creating a barrier to walking and biking from the north and west. In fact, the share of commuters biking to Daly City Station is among the lowest in the BART system. The station is served by both SamTrans and Muni buses and has a sizable transit mode split. A majority of patrons, however, drive to the station. Parking demand still outstrips supply, meaning that the parking lots fills early in the morning. Daly City Station is used mainly by workers commuting to downtown San Francisco. However, the station also serves some major destinations in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, including San Francisco State University, Seton Medical Center, and recently built Pacific Plaza office and retail development. B. Recommendations The following are key recommendations for improving access to the Daly City Station. A more comprehensive inventory of recommendations is included at the end of this report. x Install new sidewalks in critical locations to improve pedestrian access and safety. Study pedestrian movements in other key locations to determine the feasibility and configuration of new sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals. x Encourage the cities of San Francisco and Daly City to expand the network of Class I and Class II bike paths connecting to the BART station. x In addition to the reserved parking program, implement a daily charge for all parking stalls consistent with policies at other San Mateo County stations. x Encourage a collaboration between Muni, SamTrans and Daly City to extend the Muni’s 14 Mission line to the BART station. x Add real time information for drivers and transit riders, including “predictive arrival” displays for bus connections as well as parking space availability displays. BART Planning Department2 December 2002 II. ACCESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT A. Background The 1999 Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District Strategic Plan called for improvements to station access by all modes through the promotion of alternatives to driving alone, and by linking station access with other key strategic goals. In May 2000, the BART Board adopted the “Access Management and Improvement Policy Framework” which focuses on: x Enhancing customer satisfaction; x Increasing ridership by enhancing access to the BART system; x Creating access programs in partnership with communities; and x Managing access programs and parking assets in an efficient, productive, environmentally sensitive and equitable manner. In accordance with these goals, the BART Board directed staff to prepare a series Access Plans for stations throughout the BART system. Twelve such plans were completed in September 2002. Recently, the Board requested a completed Access Plan for Daly City by December 2002. All Access Plans may be adjusted over time due to changing conditions, policies and programs. B. Purpose Access Plans are intended to improve the appeal and quality of access to BART stations, especially by modes other than driving alone. They examine and prioritize station access improvements, which can include physical enhancements, new programs, or policy changes. A key goal of the Plans is to ensure that access planning for BART stations considers and helps to guide other capital investments, such as those that promote station area development and increase station capacity. Another goal is to aid the achievement of BART’s access targets. The proposed access targets, in the Access Management and Improvement Policy Framework, include a reduction in the share of morning peak patrons who drive alone to BART with corresponding increases in the share of walk, bicycle, transit, carpool, passenger drop off and taxi trips. The proposed targets shift the solo driver share from 38 percent in 1998, to 33 percent in 2005, to 31 percent in 2010. Table 1 outlines both 2005 and 2010 targets. Station-specific targets have not been estimated in the Access Plans. Access recommendations proposing to influence travel behavior are still unproven, and the effectiveness of Access Plans projects would need to be monitored following their implementation. This will inform the development of future station-specific mode split targets that are more reliable and meaningful. While focusing primarily on home-based morning trips to stations, these Plans may also address station access at all times of day and are expected to benefit all types of trips to and from BART. BART Planning Department3 December 2002 Table 1: Systemwide Mode Share Targets (AM Peak)* Mode 1998 Mode 2005 Targets 2010 Targets Share Walk 23.0% 24.0% 24.5% Bike 2.0% 2.5% 3.0% Transit 21.0% 21.5% 22.0% Drop-off, Carpool, Taxi 16.0% 19.0% 19.5% Drive Alone 38.0% 33.0% 31.0% *Targets do not include new ridership to be generated by the SFO extension. Data Source Analysis prepared by R. Willson, Ph.D., AICP, Transportation Consultant, 2001 C. Process The development of this Station Access Plan began with a systematic information gathering effort. It included a review of patron data such as ridership trends and projections, rider demographics, and mode split, as well as station area characteristics such as land use and neighborhood demographics. It also involved an examination of the existing plans and pending improvements of both BART and other local stakeholders, including: Review of Local and Regional Plans x Daly City General Plan x BART CIP and SRTP x San Francisco Bicycle Plan x Draft San Francisco Countywide Transportation Plan x Muni “X” Plan x SamTrans Bus Service Changes for SFO Extension The next step involved an assessment of the current access opportunities and constraints at each station. An “Open House” workshop on October 29, 2002 was held to elicit community and agency input. Prior to this Open House, several other meetings were held with BART staff, community groups, and agencies in both Daly City and San Francisco listed below. Input from BART Departments and Partner Agencies x BART (Customer Access, Station Area Working Group) x City of San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic x San Francisco County Transportation Authority x Muni x SamTrans x Daly City Planning & Zoning BART Planning Department4 December 2002 x Daly City Economic and Community Development x Daly City Public Works / Engineering x Caltrans Other Stakeholder Outreach x Daly City BART patrons x Daly City Council of Homeowners & Residents Association x San Mateo County League of Women Voters x CCAG Bike & Pedestrian Task Force x BART Accessibility Task Force x BART Bicycle Advisory Committee x Peninsula Pedestrian and Bicycle Coalition x San Francisco Bike Coalition x Daly City and San Francisco station area residents III. CURRENT CONDITIONS A. Station Setting The Daly City BART station opened in 1973, along with the rest of the 7.5 mile, 8-station San Francisco line. It served as the end of the line station in the West Bay until 1996, when the Colma BART station was opened. Located at the San Mateo County-San Francisco boundary, the station draws riders from both jurisdictions. Daly City BART offers four lines of train service like San Francisco stations, but also provides commuter parking like San Mateo County stations. It is served by both Muni and SamTrans buses. Map 1: Station Area Situated on the northwestern side of the San Francisco Peninsula, the climate at the Daly City Station is cool and foggy much of the year, often with strong prevailing westerly winds. The station area is bisected by Interstate 280, near its merge with Highway 1. The highway runs along the western and northern edge of the station, separating it from areas to the west and north, and limiting access to two bridges that cross it: St. Charles Avenue and John Daly Boulevard. To the west of the station are Source: Thomas Bros Maps single-family detached residential subdivisions such as the Westlake and Broadmoor neighborhoods, with some enclaves of multi- family apartments. There are also large swaths of open space including several golf courses, Lake Merced, and recreation areas around the Lake. The 620,000 s.f. Westlake Shopping Center is located about one mile west of the BART station along John Daly Blvd. BART Planning Department5 December 2002 The neighborhood to the east and south of the station is known as “Original Daly City” and is an older and denser residential area with attached residential units and some apartments. In addition to residential uses, the area includes the recently constructed Pacific Plaza less than ¼ mile south of the station along Junipero Serra Blvd. This city-led redevelopment project includes 41,000 s.f. of retail space, about 350,000 s.f. of Class A office space, a 20 screen movie theatre, and a multi-story parking garage. To the east, less than ½ mile from the station is the “Top of the Hill” area, a historic retail stretch along Mission Street.